As promised, I wanted to share a few stories from the yard sale. When I began thinking and praying about doing this yard sale I wasn’t sure I wanted to. I knew it would be a lot of work, and it was, and I wasn’t sure it would be very profitable, but I was wrong about that one. I felt like God wanted us to do the yard sale to reach out to the community around us and spread His love amongst those we wouldn’t normally have contact with.

We got to meet all types of people while doing this yard sale. Even before the yard sale began we had listed some things on Craigslist and got to meet this wonderful man and his wife who were interested in buying some things we had listed. We told him about our adoption plans and he came back the next day to buy more stuff and made a donation to our adoption. He has a ministry in Gaston county that helps homeless men and women get work. It was a blessing to meet a fellow Christian who is doing the work God has called him to. We are each called to different things and it’s wonderful to exercise those callings to help those around us in different ways.

On the day of the yard sale, we met three people who made an impression on me. The first was the a lady whose husband was very obese and disabled. He is about to have gastric bypass surgery and she was so glad to come to our yard sale and be able to buy a treadmill inexpensively for him. Also, we had a table and chairs set that she bought because it was the perfect height for him to sit at while in his wheelchair. Those of you who are in our family will know it as the “lake table”. It’s a sentimental piece for the family and we are so glad that it was able to go to a family who really needed it. We were also able to deliver those things to her house for her and that meant a great deal to her.

The second person was a lady who ended up buying all our clothing for a discounted price. She has a ministry in the Phillipins to needy people there and that clothing will be used for them. We were so glad to be able to see that clothing go to needy people in another country.

The third person was a young man who obviously had some special needs. He came to the yard sale with his friends. He was about 20 or so and had experienced, he told us, a car accident that resulted in a closed head injury to his brain. This affected his mental and emotional processing and he also has some injuries to his face. He approached me while I was talking to another person and he interrupted me to say he liked a particular picture. I smiled and nodded and kept talking to the person I was talking to. He interrupted again to say the same thing. I wanted to be able to talk with him and not put him off, but this person I was speaking to was still wanting to talk with me. So, after that conversation was over I went over to him and he was still looking at the picture he had mentioned. It was a picture of Jesus. I picked it up and told him he could have it. You could see on his face that it meant the world to him. And really, I just didn’t feel right about charging anyone for Jesus anyway. 🙂 He went over and started talking to my mom and talked with her for a long while. He told her how much he appreciated that picture I had given him and how nice I was. He started to leave and I made sure to say “bye” to him and he came over to me and gave me a high-five. I realized then that most people usually ignore him, I would bet, and it meant so much to him to have me treat him as a regular person. It’s not easy to talk with people who may have special needs or are a bit “different”, but if you take the time to do it, it means so much to them and without you realizing it, it affects you as well. God has planted in my heart a love for “different” people. Mostly through my son, but also through encounters like that one. It will change you if you let it. Some people would say “what a shame” when they see that young man, but I disagree. God has allowed such a thing to happen in that young man’s life for a reason and God loves him just as he is. We should as well. I think that young man, as many people with mental disabilities, see the world through a better light than most of us. They are happy about small things and don’t get bogged down with the world and all its trappings. If only we could see through their eyes and be more like them.

These are some of the people we met on Saturday. It was a blessing to us to do the yard sale and to be able to help some people who were in need. I am so glad we were obedient to God’s prompting in doing this and He showed up and blessed us in return. It has been said that you can’t out give God and it’s so true.